County considers regulationof area junkyards

Monday

BEAVER - The Beaver County Commissioners are considering an ordinance designed to combat thefts of scrap metal - especially copper - by regulating scrap dealers for a first time.

Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh requested the ordinance in response to a spike over the last few years in metal thefts, including water piping from occupied homes.

The ordinance would be similar to one already in effect for precious-metals dealers, which requires jewelry and pawn shops to record purchases and submit the information to an online police database. That ordinance requires shop owners to be licensed through the county. It also requires shop owners to photograph sellers and the merchandise they are selling and record the seller's identification information.

The information must be transmitted via e-mail to the database, which is available to all county law enforcement agencies.

"The key ingredient of that is they have to report their transactions," Berosh said. "The advantage of it is in the event of a crime, an officer can sit in his police station with the victim and they can look over the items on this website. We would have your picture, what you sold, what day you sold it and what you were paid for it."

Berosh said he would like to see similar language in an ordinance governing scrap metal.

The state Legislature passed a law about one year ago that permits counties, for a first time, to regulate the sale of scrap.

Meanwhile, Beaver County has been plagued with metal thefts as the price of scrap has climbed, Berosh said.

Last week, Midland police reported that five vacant houses were broken into and all of the copper water piping in basements was stolen.

"It was easy pickings for them to get in," Police Chief Joe D'Itri said. "People have to secure their doors and windows, and if neighbors see anything, they've got to call. Not the next day; they have to call right away."

Similar thefts have been reported across the county and in neighboring counties.

A New Castle man was electrocuted on June 27 while attempting to steal copper fixtures from an electrical substation in the city, police reported.

Duquesne Light Co. has experienced so many thefts from its facilities that it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of people stealing copper and aluminum or dealers who buy the stolen metal.

"As the price of these metals goes up, we start to see (thefts) pick up," Berosh said.

Beaver County Detective Bob Heberle, who set up the precious-metals database with Sgt. Kelly Hogan of the Beaver police, said the website has received 6,240 entries since it started last July. Police, he said, have solved numerous thefts and burglaries as a result of the centralized information.

"We've made numerous arrests from this website," Heberle said.

Allegheny County currently requires scrap dealers to record transactions, according to Victor Alfieri, a partner with Iron City Steel and Recycling Center in Crescent Township.

He said the county requires him to keep records of all purchases, including the seller's name, address and driver's license, and material sold.

"You're also video-recorded here," he said. "Your face, your signature and also your material is video-recorded."

Assistant Beaver County solicitor Joseph Askar said he is currently working on a second draft of the scrap ordinance and plans to submit it to the commissioners by August for a vote.

Commissioners Chairman Tony Amadio said he believes the board will pass it.

"I believe it's the best way to track scrap," Amadio said. "There have been robberies throughout the county in recent times, and we're just trying to stop it."

Bob Bauder can be reached online at bbauder@timesonline.com.

THEFT OF METALS SOARING

- Beaver County has experienced a run of metal thefts over the last few years as the price of scrap has climbed.

- Authorities say thieves have stolen everything from copper water pipes from occupied houses to washing machines. The stuff is typically sold for cash at area scrap dealers.

- Beaver County is now considering an ordinance that would require dealers to record information from sellers.

- Copper is especially enticing. The price, which bottomed out at around $1.25 per pound in late 2009 climbed to more than $3 this year before beginning a downward track, according to the website kitcometals.com. It was selling for about $2.25 per pound locally on Friday.

- Midland police last week reported the theft of copper water pipes from five vacant houses.

- On June 27, a New Castle man was electrocuted while trying to steal copper from an electrical substation, according to New Castle police.

- A Pulaski Township man was sentenced in May to an 18-to-36 month prison stretch for stealing copper from homes and properties in northern Beaver County over the last year.

- Harmony Township police charged two men in April with stealing $11,000 worth of copper from a township business. A third man has been charged since then.

- In 2009, Penn Power reported losses totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars due to copper thefts. North Sewickley police this year were investigating the theft of nearly a mile of copper transmission line.

- One of the most brazen incidents was in 2008, when two men cut down a wooden utility pole in Moon Township in an attempt to steal three electrical transformers containing up to 600 pounds of copper.

Source: Beaver County Times files

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